Renaissance (1350's - 1700's)

The love of art and education was a key feature of a time we call the Renaissance (REN-uh-sahns). The word Renaissance means “rebirth” and refers to the period that followed Europe’s Middle Ages. What was being “reborn”? Interest in Greek and Roman writings was revived. Also, the Renaissance put an emphasis on people as individuals. These ideas were very different from the ideas of the Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages, most people in Europe had devoted themselves entirely to Christianity. People looked to the church for answers to problems in their lives, and most of Europe’s brilliant and influential thinkers were church figures. By the late 1300s, however, scholars had begun to study subjects besides religion. They studied history, literature, public speaking, and art, subjects that emphasized the actions and abilities of humans. Together, these subjects are called the humanities. The study of the humanities led to a new way of thinking and learning known as humanism.

RENAISSANCE vocab and mapping

By the 1300s four northern Italian cities had become trading centers—Florence, Genoa (JEN-uh-wuh), Milan (muh-LAHN), and Venice. These cities bustled with activity. Shoppers there could buy beautiful things from Asia. Residents could meet strangers from faraway places and hear many languages on the streets.

Italian cities played two very important roles in trade. One role was as ports on the Mediterranean Sea. Venice and Genoa were Italy’s main port cities. Merchant ships brought spices and other luxuries from Asia into the cities’ harbors. From there, merchants shipped the goods across Europe. The other role was as manufacturing centers. Cities specialized in certain crafts. Venice produced glass. Workers in Milan made weapons and silk. Florence was a center for weaving wool into cloth. All of this economic activity put more money in merchants’ pockets. Some Italian merchant families became incredibly wealthy. Eventually, this wealth would help make Italy the center of Renaissance culture.

Look at the map below. Notice that in the 1300s Italy was not a single country. Instead, it was made up of independent states. These states had different forms of government. For example, Venice was a republic, while the pope ruled the Papal States as a monarchy. While in other big Italian cities, a single rich merchant family controlled the government. This cities competed against each other to see whose city could grow richest from trade. They also competed for fame. Each one wanted to be known as powerful, wise, and devoted to his city.

RENAISSANCE Begins in florence

In the 1300s, trade goods from Asia poured into Europe. Many of those items came through Italian ports. As a result, the merchant families in these cities made money. As the families grew rich and powerful, they wanted everyone to see what their money could buy. Although these factors affected most big Italian cities, one city— Florence—stands out as an example of trade and wealth at this time.

Although Florence’s wealth began with the wool trade, banking increased that wealth. Bankers in Florence kept money for merchants from all over Europe. The bankers made money by charging interest. Interest is a fee that borrowers pay for the use of someone else’s money. This fee is usually a certain percentage of the loan.

The greatest bankers in Florence were the Medici (MED-i-chee) family. In the early 1400s they were Florence’s richest family, and by 1434 Cosimo de’ Medici (KOH-zee-moh day MED-i-chee) ruled the city. As ruler, Cosimo de’ Medici wanted Florence to be the most beautiful city in the world. He hired artists to decorate his palace. He also paid architects to redesign many of Florence’s buildings. Cosimo de’ Medici also valued education. After all, his banks needed workers who could read, write, and understand math. To improve education, he also built libraries and collected books. During the time that the Medici family held power, Florence became the center of Italian art, literature, and culture. In other Italian cities, rich families tried to outdo the Medicis—and each other—in their support of the arts and learning.

RENAISSANCE Art & Artist

During the Renaissance Italian artists created some of the most beautiful paintings and sculptures in the world. Rich families and church leaders hired the artists to create these works. New techniques made their work come alive. Renaissance ideas about the value of human life are reflected in the art of the time. Artists showed people more realistically than medieval artists had done. Renaissance artists studied the human body and drew what they saw. However, because artists often used classical statues as their guides, many of the human beings they drew were as perfect as Greek gods.

Artists also used a new discovery--perspective, a method of showing a three-dimensional scene on a flat surface so that it looks real. Perspective uses various techniques. For example, people in the background are smaller than those in front. Also, straight lines, such as on floor tiles, appear diagonal. Colors could also show distance. So mountains in the background of a picture are a hazy blue.

Leonardo Da Vinci: "The Renaissance Man"

The true genius of the Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, some call him the greatest genius that has ever lived. In addition to being an expert painter, Leonardo was a sculptor, architect, inventor, and engineer. He was even a town planner and mapmaker. Both nature and technology fascinated Leonardo. Detailed drawings of plants, animals, and machines fill his sketchbooks. To make his art more real, Leonardo studied anatomy, or the structure of human bodies. He dissected corpses to see how bones and muscles worked.

Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper (Above)

Michelangelo

One of the greatest Italian artists was Michelangelo (mee-kay-LAHN-jay-loh). He had many talents. Michelangelo designed buildings, wrote poetry, carved sculptures, and painted magnificent pictures. Perhaps his most famous work is a painting that covers the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The muscular human figures in this immense painting remind the viewer of Greek or Roman statues.

The Printing Press & other Renaissance advancements

By the late 700s papermaking had spread from China to the Middle East. From there it came to Europe. European factories were making paper by the 1300s. Because it was cheaper and easier to prepare, paper soon replaced the animal skins on which people had written before. Travelers and artists helped spread the Renaissance throughout Europe. But the development of printing was a giant step in spreading ideas. For the first time ever, thousands of people could read books and share ideas about them.

In the mid-1400s a German man, Johann Gutenberg (GOOT-uhn-berk), developed a printing press that used movable type. That is, each letter was a separate piece. A worker could fit letters into a frame, spread ink on the letters, and press a sheet of paper against the letters. In this way, an entire page was printed at once. Then the worker could rearrange letters in the frame to create a new page. How much faster printing was than writing!

The first printed book was a Bible printed in the Latin language in about 1455. Soon, some thinkers began to call for the Bible to be translated into common languages. Although church leaders fought strenuously against it, the Bible was eventually translated and printed. Bibles were suddenly available to more people. Because the Bible was available to read, more people learned to read.

Many of the texts rediscovered in the 1300s dealt with science. For the first time in centuries, Europeans could read works by ancient scientists. After reading these works, Renaissance scholars went on to make their own scientific advances.

Some scholars thought mathematics could help them understand the universe. They studied ancient math texts and built upon the ideas in them. In the process, they created symbols we still use in math today. For example, they created symbols for the square root (√a) and for positive (+) and negative (−) numbers.

Advances in math led to advances in other fields of science. For example, engineers and architects used new mathematical formulas to strengthen buildings and build great domes.

Other Renaissance scientists wanted to know more about the sky and what was in it. They studied astronomy to learn about the sun, stars, and planets. In the Middle Ages, scientists had thought that the sun and stars revolved around the earth. They thought that the earth was the center of the universe. But Renaissance scientists learned that the earth moves around the sun. Later astronomers built on this discovery to lay the foundations for modern astronomy. Other scholars were less interested in the stars and more curious about the earth itself. They wanted to know the exact size and shape of the earth and its lands. These scholars used measurements and calculations made by merchants and sailors to create better, more accurate maps.

Renaissance Literature & its Writers

The popularity of the humanities was due in large part to a new interest in ancient history. This interest had been caused by the rediscovery of many ancient writings that Europeans had thought to be lost. During the 1300s, Turks had conquered much of the Byzantine Empire. Scholars seeking to escape the Turks fled to Italy. In their luggage these scholars carried rare, precious works of literature.

Many of the works they brought to Italy were ancient classical writings, such as works by Greek thinkers. You may remember some of their names—Plato and Thucydides, for example. Europeans had thought that these ancient writings were lost forever. Excited by their return, scholars then went looking for ancient texts in Latin. They discovered many Latin texts in monasteries, where the monks had preserved works by Roman writers. As Italian scholars read the ancient texts, they rediscovered the glories of Greece and Rome. As a result, they longed for a renewal of classical culture.

Many Italian writers contributed great works of literature to the Renaissance. The earliest was the politician and poet named Dante Alighieri (DAHN-tay ahl-eeg-YEH-ree), or simply Dante. Before Dante, most medieval authors had written in Latin, the language of the church. But Dante wrote in Italian, which was the common language of the people. By using Italian, Dante showed that he considered the people’s language to be as good as Latin. Later writers continued to use common languages in their works of literature. Dante’s major work was The Divine Comedy. It describes an imaginary journey he took through the afterlife starting in Hell, than Purgatory, and finally Heaven. On this journey, Dante meets people from his past as well as great figures from history.

A later Italian writer was also a politician. His name was Niccolo Machiavelli (neek-koh-LOH mahk-yah-VEL-lee). In 1513 Machiavelli wrote a short book called The Prince. It gave leaders advice on how they should rule.

Machiavelli didn’t care about theories or what should work. In his writings, he argued that rulers had to focus on the “here and now,” not theories, to be successful. He was only interested in what really happened in both war and peace. For example, Machiavelli thought that sometimes rulers had to be ruthless to keep order. One of his more controversial topics centered on the perception of the ruler. He asked, "Is it better to be loved or feared as a ruler?" We will discuss this idea further in class, but what do you think?

Reformation

By the late Renaissance some people had begun to complain about problems in the Catholic Church. They called on church leaders to erase corruption and to focus on religion. Eventually, their calls led to a reform movement of western Christianity called the Reformation.

The reformers who wanted to change and improve the church had many complaints. Their complaints criticized the behavior of priests, bishops, and popes, as well as church practices. Some reformers thought priests and bishops weren’t very religious anymore. They claimed that many priests didn’t even know basic church teachings. Others felt that the pope was too involved in politics, neglecting his religious duties. These people found it difficult to see the pope as their spiritual leader.

Other reformers had no problems with the clergy, but they thought the church had grown too rich. During the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church had become one of the richest institutions in Europe. The church used a number of methods to raise money, and it had been able to stay rich because it didn’t have to pay any taxes. For many people the worst problems were the methods the church used to raise money. One common method the church used to raise money was the sale of indulgence, which was money collected for a relaxation of penalties for sins people had committed.

On October 31, 1517, a priest named Martin Luther added his voice to the call for reform. He nailed a list of complaints about the church to the door of a church in Wittenberg (VIT-uhn-berk) Germany. Luther’s list is called the Ninety-Five Theses. Thanks to the newly invented printing press, copies of Luther’s complaints spread to neighboring German states.

The Ninety-Five Theses criticized the church and many of its practices, especially the sale of indulgences. The Theses also outlined many of Luther’s own beliefs. For example, he didn’t think people needed to do charity work or give money to the church. According to Luther, as long as people believed in God and lived by the Bible, their souls would be saved.

Luther’s ideas eventually led to a split in the Roman Catholic Church. Those who sided with Luther and protested against the church became known as Protestants (PRAH-tuhs-tuhnts). Those Protestants who also followed Luther’s teachings were known as Lutherans.

The Counter Reformation

By the mid-1500s Catholic leaders in Europe were responding to the criticisms of Protestants. They responded in many ways. Some reformers created new religious orders. Others tried to change church policy. Still others tried to stop the spread of Protestant teachings in Catholic areas. These changes made by the new orders all shared one important goal—they wanted to win back support for the Catholic Church from people who had turned away, this movement of reforms became known as the Counter-Reformation.

The new religious orders were one response to reform, but many Catholic leaders felt that more change was needed. They decided to call together a council of church leaders. Held in Trent, Italy, this council was called the Council of Trent. At this meeting, clergy from across Europe came together to discuss, debate, and eventually reform Catholic teachings.

The Council of Trent actually met three times between 1545 and 1563. The decisions made in these meetings led to major reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. The council restated the importance of the clergy in interpreting the Bible, but it created new rules that clergy had to follow. For example, the council ordered bishops to actually live in the areas they oversaw. Before this decision some bishops had lived far from the churches they ran. The most important reform made centered on the selling of indulgences. No longer would the church clergy be allowed to sell pardons for sins.

SCIENTIFIC Revolution

The series of events that led to the birth of modern science is called the Scientific Revolution. It occurred between about 1540 and 1700. Why would the birth of science be called a “revolution”? The answer is that science was a radical new idea. It was a completely different way of looking at the world.

Before the Scientific Revolution, most educated people who studied the world took guidance from the explanations given by authorities like ancient Greek writers and Catholic Church officials. Aristotle, Ptolemy, and other Greek thinkers were rationalists, people who looked at the world in a rational, or reasonable and logical, way. During the Renaissance, Europeans studied the works of Greek rationalists. As a result, they began to view the world in a rational way. They began to think like scientists. After the Scientific Revolution, educated people placed more importance on what they observed and less on what they were told. They gained knowledge by observing the world around them and coming up with logical explanations for what they saw.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of reaching Asia. As a guide, he took the map of the world that Ptolemy had created. Columbus never reached Asia because he ran into North America instead. Within a few years voyages of exploration made it clear that there was an entire continent that Europeans hadn’t even known existed. This event caused Europeans to doubt some of what the Greeks had said.

This discovery stunned Europeans. This continent was not on Ptolemy’s map. Ptolemy was wrong. Observation of the real world had disproved the teachings of an ancient authority. Soon, European scholars began to question the accuracy of other Greek authorities. More and more, observations the Europeans made did not fit with what the authorities had described. Such observations helped lead to the Scientific Revolution.

Astronomy & its Great astronomers

Nicolaus Copernicus In 1543 a book was written by Polish astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus (kuh-PUHR-ni-kuhs), it contradicted what a Greek authority had written. Many historians think the publication of this book marks the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. His book was called On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres. Previously, Ptolemy had written that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun and other planets orbited, or circled around, the earth. For 1,400 years, people accepted this belief as fact.

As Copernicus studied the movements of the planets, however, what Ptolemy stated made less and less sense to him. If the planets were indeed orbiting the earth, they would have to be moving in very complex patterns. So Copernicus tried a different explanation for what he observed in the sky. Copernicus asked, What if the planets actually orbited the sun? Suddenly, complex patterns weren’t necessary to make sense of what Copernicus observed. Instead, simple circular orbits would account for the planets’ movements. Copernicus never proved his theory, but the Scientific Revolution had begun.

Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei (gal-uh-LEE-oh gal-uh-LAY) was one of the most important scientists of the Scientific Revolution. He was the first person to study the sky with a telescope. With his telescope, Galileo discovered craters and mountains on the moon. He also discovered that moons orbit Jupiter. As well as supported Copernicus's theory that the sun was the center of the universe.

Galileo was interested in more than astronomy, however. He also was interested in such things as how falling objects behave. Galileo’s biggest contribution to the development of science was the way he learned about objects and motion. Instead of just observing things in nature, he set up experiments to test what he observed. Galileo was the first scientist to routinely use experiments to test his theories. For this, he is remembered as the father of experimental science.

Sir Isaac Newton The high point of the Scientific Revolution was marked by the 1687 publication ofPrincipia Mathematica. Its author was the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton. Newton was one of the greatest and most influential scientists who ever lived. Some of his theories have been proven so many times that they are no longer called theories, but laws.

One of Newton’s laws is called the law of gravity. You may know that gravity is the force that attracts objects to each other. It’s the force that makes a dropped apple fall to the ground and that keeps the planets in orbit around the sun.

Newton’s other three laws are called the laws of motion. They describe how objects move in space. You may have heard of one of them: “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In short, Newton explained how the physical world worked—and he was correct. Newton’s laws became the foundation of nearly all scientific study until the 1900s.